Towards Improved Biorefinery Technologies: 5‐Methylfurfural as a Versatile C 6 Platform for Biofuels Development

Low chemical stability and high oxygen content limit utilization of the bio-based platform chemical 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) in biofuels development. In this work, Lewis-acid-catalyzed conversion of renewable 6-deoxy sugars leading to formation of more stable 5-methylfurfural (MF) is carried out with high selectivity. Besides its higher stability, MF is a deoxygenated analogue of HMF with increased C/O ratio. A highly selective synthesis of the innovative liquid biofuel 2,5-dimethylfuran starting from MF under mild conditions is described. The superior synthetic utility of MF against HMF in benzoin and aldol condensation reactions leading to long-chain alkane precursors is demonstrated.